Reuters reported today (March 9) that a new study at the University of Tasmania in Australia shows that ocean acidification is reducing the shell weights of tiny creatures called foraminifera. Weights are falling between 30 and 35 percent.
"William Howard of the University of Tasmania in Australia described the findings as an early-warning signal, adding the research was the first direct field evidence of marine life being affected by rising acidity of the oceans. . . .Foraminifera, which live on the ocean's surface, play a major role in trapping CO2 and transporting it to the ocean depths where it can be locked away for decades or more. Disrupting this process could accelerate climate change." [emphasis ours]
The research was published in Nature Geoscience: read the Reuters article here.
